Advisor Match

Welcome to the Advisor Match Questionnaire. Answer the questions to be matched with your ideal advisor. You will then schedule an introductory meeting with that advisor to determine if you want to hire them to help you retire successfully and/or stay successfully retired.

To confirm, you are completing this questionnaire because...

I am serious about working with a financial planner and retiring successfully.

I am looking for as much "free" information as possible, and I will probably try to plan my own retirement.

Do you want to schedule a discovery meeting with a matched professional?

This questionnaire aims to match you with one financial planner with whom you will schedule a 30-minute introductory call or meeting. This meeting will determine if you should move to the next step in working with them professionally. This first "Discovery" meeting is free, and you can ask any questions about working with them (what you will get, what it costs, etc.).

You are under no obligation to continue working with them beyond the discovery meeting. But if you have absolutely no intention of hiring the professional before you even meet, it will be a waste of your time.

Yes, now that I consider it, I am serious about working with a planner. I'm not sure if I will hire the professional I'm matched with, but I am serious about discovering if they can help me and if it will be a good fit. Match me with my ideal financial planner and I will schedule the meeting.

No, I am just looking around for information about retirement.

Do you want to work with a Fiduciary or a Broker/Agent?

There are two standards financial professionals can operate under.

The Fiduciary Standard requires all recommendations to be in your best interest, regardless of what the professional is paid.
The Suitability Standard allows a professional to recommend products that pay them more as long as the recommendation is still suitable for you.

Fiduciaries are held to the Fiduciary Standard. Brokers (those who sell investment products) and Agents (those who sell insurance products) are only held to the suitability standard.

I want to work with a Fiduciary. It's my money, and recommendations on it should be in my best interest.

I want to work with a broker/agent. I trust the financial industry to sell me the right products and service even if they aren't required to.

Do you understand the difference between the Fiduciary and Suitability Standards?

A financial professional working under the Suitability Standard can sell you any products that they think might help you, even if it's not best for you.

Consider this example.

There are two investment options that a professional is considering for your money.

Option A will earn you $30,000 per year and will pay the professional $1,125 right now.
Option B will earn you $15,000 per year and will pay the professional $21,000 right now.

Under the suitability standard, because Option B does make you money, the professional is allowed to only tell you about Option B and never has to show you Option A. They can sell you Option B, which earns you only half the amount, but pays them almost 20 times what Option A would.

Do you want that? Do you want to work with someone who will sell you worse products because they make more money on the sale?

Under the Fiduciary Standard, the professional would be required to show you both strategies and then recommend Option A, because it is in your best interest.

Ah! That makes more sense. I definitely want to work with a Fiduciary! Why would anyone want to work with someone under the Suitability model?

I understand the difference. But I heard that Fiduciaries might cost me money up-front. I want to ensure I pay nothing out of pocket. I would rather lose out on hundreds of thousands of dollars over my lifetime by being sold inferior products and strategies than risk paying anything out of pocket now. Match me with a suitable professional, not a fiduciary.

Do you want to work with a generalist or a specialist?

In medicine, there are generalist doctors (those who have a general knowledge of all health) and specialists (those who work with specific problems, such as cardiologists, oncologists, etc.)

In financial advice, there are those who work with everyone as a generalist (young families, business owners, tech employees with stock options, retirees, 401(k) participants, etc.), and those who work with specific groups as a specialist (such as only retirees and those close to retirement).

I'd prefer a generalist. A surface-level knowledge of my situation is more than I have and will be helpful.

I'd prefer a specialist. I want someone who has lots of experience and expertise working with people just like me.

Do you want to be sold commission-based products?

There are two main types of advisor compensation:

Fees: Transparent fees for financial services where you know what you are paying and what you are getting in return. You can cancel these services anytime and can often be refunded if the service is not satisfactory. Examples:
- Financial Planning: Flat fee paid once, annually, or monthly.
- Investment Management: 0.25%-0.50% of assets per quarter.

Commissions: Undisclosed large payouts to the financial professional for selling you a financial product. Examples:
- Transaction Fees: Commissions are paid to the financial professional every time they trade in your account.
- A-Share Mutual Fund: You pay 3-5% of what you invest up-front, plus ongoing commissions as long as you're in the fund.
- Annuities: 3-10 of what you put into an annuity is paid to the professional up-front.
- Life Insurance: 50-100% of your annual premium is paid to the professional.

Learn more about financial professional compensation here.

I prefer only to be sold financial products. I don't mind if the professional is paid high commissions as long as I don't see what it is costing me.

I'm okay being sold financial products as long as the professional can convince me it's in my best interest to buy them.

I'm okay buying a financial product if:

The product is in my best interest and
The professional recommending it is not being paid to recommend it.

I want an unbiased recommendation.

I prefer to avoid commission-based financial products. It's hard for me to believe they could help me if they pay the professional that much and have that many drawbacks.

How important is it to you to get financial advice from a professional who understands how all of your finances fit together?

I prefer working with someone with expertise in INSURANCE and who has only a basic understanding of the rest of financial planning.

I prefer working with someone with expertise in INVESTMENTS and who has only a basic understanding of the rest of financial planning.

I prefer working with someone with expertise in TAXES and who has only a basic understanding of the rest of financial planning.

I prefer working with someone with expertise in Investments, Taxes, Retirement Planning (including Social Security and Medicare planning), Insurance, and Estate Planning.

How important is it to have integrated tax strategy and advice to save on taxes over your lifetime?

It's not important. I don't mind paying lots of extra taxes during my retirement.

It's important. But I am not willing to pay anyone a small amount in fees to potentially save a significant amount in taxes. I prefer to receive the cheapest advice I can find.

It's important. I want to keep as much of my money as possible. I want a professional who will integrate tax STRATEGY into my plan. I don't mind paying some taxes, but I don't want to pay any extra.

It's important. I want to keep as much of my money as possible. I want a professional who is LICENSED to give tax ADVICE and will integrate tax STRATEGY into my plan. I don't mind paying some taxes, but I don't want to pay any extra.

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